Multi-crore Waqf scandal likely to unveil faces of bigwigs

Clandestine backdoor appointments’ scandal: 4-5 persons appointed from one family

Since the time scandals and bungling of Muslim Waqf Board have been detected, startling revelations have come to fore about frauds committed by bigwigs of main Opposition party, which during their own management time, resorted to multi-crore fraudulent execution of works without tenders. Highly-placed sources revealed that nearly 400 backdoor appointments have been established, majority out of which are of those persons who are close relatives of the members of the previous Board, closely associated with this particular party. The investigations have revealed that 4-5 persons were appointed from one family alone. Purchase of 33 safes without undertaking proper tendering procedure has also been discovered, sources said, adding that the status report of the Probe Committee, once it becomes public, will ruffle many feathers in this political party. People of the State, especially those in Kashmir valley, are waiting with bated breath for the outcome of the status report, which will be submitted by the three-Member Probe Committee constituted to make public wholesale irregularities committed by the previous Board. As has been reported earlier, during the meeting taken to review the performance by Muslim Waqf Board on July 2, it was revealed that number of employees of the Board had been more than doubled raising the wage bill of the Board employees to Rs. 6 crore from Rs. 2 crore. Various works had been started without proper tendering and expenditures made without approval. Besides, fixed deposits with banks running into crores of rupees were withdrawn without any sanction of the Board and the utilization of the money remains unexplained. Safes worth lakhs of rupees were purchased which now lie in storage as there was no requirement for these. Purchases were made without transparency and it appears to have been done to benefit a handful of vested interests at the cost of the ziarats and devotees.

All this, necessitated a thorough investigation to expose the multi-crore scam committed to loot public assets of the Waqf Board.

It was also revealed in the meeting that since the time of conversion of Muslim Auqaf Trust into Muslim Waqf Board, the last Board had virtually turned its functioning into a government department. It was added that Muslim Auqaf Trust constituted with the objective of maintaining, preserving and upgrading mosques, shrines and other Waqf properties besides rendering service to the Muslims, had lost its goal.

Sources disclosed that Probe Committee has nailed many top notch personalities belonging to this particular party in mismanaging the affairs of the Board and destroying the aura of a pious religious organization.

Sources also revealed that many Muslim religious organizations, which are aghast over the financial embezzlements committed by the previous Board, have sought a CBI probe to bring wrongdoers to book. Pertinently, Mufti-e-Azam Mufti Bashir-ud-din had also welcomed the investigation to unearth the scandals in the Muslim Waqf Board. He had said whosoever had resorted to massive illegal appointments, executed multi-crore works and made purchases without floating of tenders should be identified and immediately brought to justice.